Sexual Violence Policy Working Group issues draft policy

Vari Hall with students walking through it

Robert Castle, chair of the Sexual Violence Policy Working Group, has issued the following message, on behalf of the working group, to the University community:

The Sexual Violence Policy Working Group has continued to develop the draft Sexual Violence Policy since communicating with the York community on November 21st. Throughout November, representatives of the working group held direct consultations with 35 campus groups, including two public consultations – one at Keele and  one at Glendon, representing over 60 hours of consultations.  We have incorporated many of our community’s suggestions and recommendations into our current draft policy, which we are pleased to share with you. It is our hope that you will take the time to read the draft policy and provide feedback by December 9, 2016. The draft policy may be viewed here.

There are two modes are available for you to provide feedback on this important issue. First, for those who would like to make a confidential submission, you can do so by going to one of the following links:

For English: http://tinyurl.com/grqe7a3         For French: http://tinyurl.com/zg6ls68

For those who would like to engage directly with members of the Working Group, we will be hosting a drop-in consultation on Wednesday, December 7, 2016, between 1 and 5pm in Founders College Senior Common Room,305 Founders College.  ASL interpreters will be available throughout the afternoon.

While the working group is widely representative of the community, with over 20 members, half of whom represent student organizations, it is still important that as many people as possible take the chance to voice their comments, questions, and suggestions. Your recommendations and comments will help form the final draft of the policy which will be presented to the Board of Governors for approval in two weeks. In January 2017, the formal release of York’s new Sexual Violence Policy will be accompanied by a number of key commitments to ensure effective implementation of the policy.

To ensure we meet community expectations shared during our consultations, a key commitment the University is making today concerns the Sexual Violence Response Office, which is currently a part of Office for Student Community Relations (OSCR). Over the next several months the University will be transitioning the response office to a stand-alone office, with increased staff to meet the needs of our community. While the response office will maintain operational connections with OSCR, it will have its own location and governance structure.

We look forward to hearing from you.